How to Feel Your Feelings
PRACTICE: Feel & Express ~
Most of us can’t tell what we’re feeling in any given moment, especially when stressed.
We look to those around us for direction, instead of consulting our inner source — our feelings.
Connecting with your feelings is integral in the work of waking up and taking conscious charge of your life and relationships.
This doesn’t mean wallowing or getting stuck — it means experiencing sensations, and allowing a release.
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1) Start with a body scan — both to settle in to the energy of taking time for yourself, and to get in touch with sensations in your body.
2) Remember a time when you felt a feeling, big or small.
3) Feel the feeling — stop yourself from thinking about the story of the feeling, just feel the sensations of emotion in your body. Be a curious and compassionate observer of your experience.
Where in your body is the feeling located? Is it big or small? Tight or expansive? Hard or soft?
Does it have a shape? Colour? Temperature? Weight? Texture?
Does it have a message? Ask it what it needs – you might be surprised what arises.
4) Move the energy of the feeling, preferably in the pure form of an emotional physical release in the moment — scream, dance, cry, shake, whatever works.
For more explosive emotions like anger or sadness, especially if you have to be quiet, you can scream into a pillow, thrash on a soft surface, do some deep growling, or grip/twist a hand towel or similar.
(Note: Anger can be scary, and might masquerade as sadness. If you don’t think you have anger, that’s something to explore. Depression, road rage, smoking a lot of cigarettes, feeling “fine” all the time then snapping sometimes — all are signs of suppressed anger. If you can’t access anger yet, just move your energy in whatever way’s accessible right now.)
For gentler emotions, self-soothing, intuitive movement, stretching, and dancing are good options. You can also make art or journal your experience.
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Learn your feelings in a controlled environment. Practice enough that you can recognize them as they happen IRL. Clear out old energy so past feelings don't cloud new ones.
❤️
- S
